AMC renews ‘The Walking Dead’ for a third season

By Lisa de MoraesBy Lisa de MoraesOctober 25, 2011

The Walking Dead (Greg Nicotero)

To the surprise of absolutely no one, AMC has renewed “The Walking Dead” for a third season.

Tuesday’s announcement coincides with the global launch of “The Walking Dead’s” second season last week in Europe, Asia, Latin America, Africa and the Middle East. According to AMC, the second season debuted in 122 countries, running Oct. 17-23. Over those days in those 122 countries, the show cumed another 10 million viewers who sampled the show.

“Partnering with AMC on ‘The Walking Dead’ took some guts,” Sharon Tal Yguado, senior vp of Fox International Channels, which distributes the show internationally, said Tuesday.

Da dum dum!

Then, to set the record straight, Yguado added, “at the same time it was the easiest programming decision we ever made.”

Here in the U.S., the recent the second-season debut of “The Walking Dead” attracted more than 7 million followers, and about 5 million of them fell into the 18-49 age bracket AMC chases, which the network noted is a basic cable record. Schtick was epidemic at AMC that day; president president Charlie Collier was caught saying, “That ‘The Walking Dead’ is now the most watched drama in the history of basic cable, against key demographics, is staggering — just like our zombies.”

GALLERY: Click the image to view a guide to the characters of ’The Walking Dead.’